Getting Started on Your Dissertation In Law
We would like to wish everyone a warm welcome back to Aberdeen. It is that time of year again which most 4th year students fear – dissertation time. In today’s blog I will talk about preparing for your law dissertation and choosing a topic.
Regardless of what degree you study writing a dissertation can be daunting, especially coming up with a topic to write about. Read along for tips and resources to help you!
Everyone here at the society would agree that finding a topic for your dissertation is a challenge. This mind puzzle of collecting your thoughts and settling on a topic that you truly feel you want to write about is hard. Read along and hopefully this blog will help you with your dissertation.
Sometimes the simplest solution is best. Look back at what you have studied, what did you enjoy? what is an absolute no? What is important is being honest with yourself, truly finding something you enjoyed. You should also not confine yourself to only what you have studied. It is important to find a topic that has a multitude of literature based upon it. By doing this you will enrich your dissertation and therefore be able to naturally develop a more critical analysis for your work.
However, there are other ways to find a topic that interests you:
The Law Society Gazette - lawgazette.co.uk
The gazette will have up-to-date news on both international and domestic developments in the legal sphere. By going on the website you will be presented with a multitude of news articles and opinions. Take your time to explore the gazette and all the content it offers. This may open you up to an array of legal topics which may peak your interest and ultimately help you find a topic for your dissertation. The added bonus of reading the gazette will mean you will have current discussions in the legal sector fresh in your mind for all your applications and interviews. Win-Win.
The Supreme Court - supremecourt.uk
Using the Supreme Court’s website you can view pending appeals that will be heard by the court. What is amazing about this website is that each appeal is broken down providing a case summary. This case summary is in a form of a question based around the primary legal problem in the case. If you come across a case that has peaked your interest, you can then manipulate the case summary easily into your research question.
The Law Commission - lawcom.gov.uk
The news section provides updates on law reforms in the UK. The articles and headlines can prove to be inspirational and provide insight into topics that you may not have otherwise considered.
The News
Staying up to date on the news can prove to be an amazing source of ideas for your dissertation. By staying up to date with the news you have an opportunity of discovering a new topic. Don’t limit yourself to the legacy media outlets, explore different types of news and online newspapers. Just remember that your dissertation should have a strong focus on the law.
Search for Published Dissertations
While for obvious reasons you cannot directly copy someones dissertation there is nothing wrong with using published work as a source of inspiration. Find dissertations that have been published by universities and read them. See if these spark a debate in your mind or lead you to develop a question of your own. Sometimes reading work can be an excellent fuel to start a debate and maybe lead you to a topic that you want to write about.
Talk to Your Friends
Brainstorming ideas with your friends also looking for a topic for their dissertation. Use each other as inspiration and help. Sometimes your friend may have insight or perspective you didn't consider which can be a perfect way of finding a topic for your dissertation.
As a special feature for this blog, we reached out to Ailsa, who was president of our society last year. We would like to thank her for taking the time to help with this blog and wish her the best on her future studies. Here is some advice she gave about choosing a topic fro her dissertation:
Diss title: “In the light of Dobbs, could a woman’s access to abortion be threatened in the United Kingdom?”
Grade: 18/22 A5
“I approached picking a topic for my dissertation based off of what I had enjoyed doing at Honours and I had absolutely loved studying abortion law so I knew this was an area I would be able to really engage with and enjoy reading about. It’s really important that you pick a topic that has a lot of literature on it from various points of views so that you can analysethe different opinions and then evaluate what you think the best argument is regarding your chosen topic. I wouldn’t say you have to have studied your chosen dissertation topic at honours because you can actually plagiarise yourself meaning you can’t just re-use an honours essay you did really well in. In my case I had to really flesh out arguments I’d made in honours essays to make sure they weren’t just copied and pasted from those essays. ”
Make sure to use all the resources you have available to you. Explore the sources mentioned in this blog and you may just find a topic for your dissertation. Don’t stress and remember to take your time researching!
Some Tips
Some tips for preparation before embarking on writing your dissertation:
Most importantly - ensure to check what is required of you. What is your word count? Ensure you check the University of Aberdeen Law School referencing style guidelines: how should your dissertation be structured? Where do you need to submit your dissertation? Makes sure you have all the details and ground work done for your dissertation. This will mean you will minimise the stress you have once you already start writing your dissertation.
Personally, setting aside time for study that is not set out on mytimetable can be a challenge. While it is not always possible, try to get into a routine and develop a habit, almost like creating your own reservation on your timetable. For example, I have no classes on Monday and have therefore decided that every Monday from 11:00am - 14:00pm is my time to study. By creating a routine it will be easy to stay on track and dedicate time to writing your dissertation.
Find a place that you can truly concentrate and be productive is paramount. I cannot study in the library which is quite ironic. I just cannot do it. The last time I tried I worked for about 30 minutes before spending an hour researching how much vice chancellors at universities across the UK earn. For me, going to a cafe is the ultimate study spot. I can tune out and work for hours on end. It’s important you find a place like this and get to work.
“To prepare before writing my dissertation I set aside time every single day to do reading on my topic and ensure there was enough out there to be able to write 10,000 words on. This is why it is key to ensure you are going to be interested in your topic because it takes a lot of motivation and discipline to do the reading required. Everyone always says this every year but do not leave all the work until the last moment. The dissertation really is a lot of work and alongside all your honours you need to make sure you manage your time well to do the absolute best you can in all your work!”
I hope you found this blog useful and it helps you with your dissertation. We would like to wish all 4th year students the best of luck this year and hope we can all share each others joy at the end of the year!
Make sure to stay tuned for more to come this year to our blog, especially our blog competition!
